Optimism is Realism

This week was super awesome. My new companion, Elder Bolaños and I, are having a ridiculously fun time. We're also both working hard and prepared to see a lot of miracles happen, both in the zone and in our area.

Firstly, an update on how the work goes. We still have our golden investigator who's going through all the lessons and faithfully coming to church each week. I'm impressed, once more, on how there really are people who are absolutely ready for the gospel and only need to be taught. In another family, two sisters are having a little more difficulty in progressing due to difficulties in attending. Nevertheless, they still have desires to be baptized, so we spoke -- particularly with their less-active mother -- on the essential principle of Sabbath-Day observance for the welfare of the family. Other memorable moments of the week included a contacting activity where we put up a table in front of popular places (the plaza, the high school, the market, etc.) and gave out pamphlets, cards, and magazines about the Church. It was enjoyable, more than anything because you really feel like you're completing your calling when you do such public preaching. You feel like you've become enjoined with the voices of missionaries from the past.

Another thrilling aspect of the week was the growth in the zone. Last transfer, we had a lot of things to iron out and things felt a little chaotic. After transfers, we got a lot of Elders with a high level of faith and energy, and my companion and I are focusing particularly on creative ideas to help the zone take off. We have high and fervent goals; we see Elders determined to change; we talk to others with a reverence in their eyes for what we hope to achieve in this transfer.

Optimism is realism. Brigham Young once said no one could have a real understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ without being an optimist. We have too high of expectations, and we believe our benevolent actions have eternal consequences. Imagine what reality has in store when we note that it is the wellspring of all the happiest songs, triumphant stories, and majestic art. We sometimes suppose all of that is false aspect of the world; tremulous ideas we use to view the world in a better light. Yet everything has a tangible source. Incredibly, any song, picture, movie, or book was expressly created as an imitation of something the creator could discern from the world. 

That means that when we achieve some virtue of nobility, all depictions of said virtue are only attempts to portray who we have become. I know charity, love, optimism and happiness are not a perspective but rather the reality of our world. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Becoming Like Christ

Well, we witness the passing of another transfer. My good friend and companion Elder Phillips will be leaving to Huánuco, and hence begins my final transfer. I'm finally clambering up on the health ladder, overcoming a series of sicknesses. I'm on top, now!  The area is still looking extremely promising- we've seen a great many people miraculously start progressing on the steps of the Gospel of Christ. 

Lately, part of my studies have been inspired by a spiritual thought in a letter I received -- that the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 demonstrate the steps of the Gospel of Jesus Christ- faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end are related to steps like being poor in heart, weeping, being meek, being a peace maker, and suffering for the sake of righteousness. That reminded me of similar steps in Moroni 8:25-26, in which the attributes of Christ are once more outlined throughout the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And again, in Mosiah 4, I was amazed to see the Gospel steps are once more taught through attributes of Christ. I would invite you to study the same. 

I came to realize that the reason Christ focuses on these steps - their purpose, if you will - is to transform us into people like Christ. We unwittingly make the two statements, "Our purpose in life is to follow the Gospel,"  and "Our purpose in life is to become like Christ" without realizing we are making the same statement. 

I know the gospel of Jesus Christ will transform us to be like Him when we return to His presence. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Are We Not All Beggars?

This week we baptized a young man and friend with a wonderful testimony. The Atonement of Jesus Christ had a powerful impact on him, and the day of his baptism made him so happy. I've included a picture. 

The gospel provides a method by which we become officially forgiven - that Jesus Christ can literally have the final say, and erase all guilt. I was impressed by King Benjamin's speech this week in the first chapters of Mosiah. He first secures that we are so little on our own, and we can expect nothing but pain and misery without Christ. When he establishes this point well, he then points out the sacred grace that makes it so, as President Uchtdorf says, "Compared to God, we are nothing; but to God, we are everything". As his people (and, hopefully, we) are rejoicing in unspeakable gratitude, King Benjamin then spins it into action. "Are we not all beggars?" he demands. Aren't we all dependent on the same Supreme Being? How could we ever deny our goods, and our service, and our strength to the poor and needy (be it spiritual or physical)?

I know we need to help our fellow brethren, by any means we can. 

For your viewing pleasure, here are some more pictures:

Charity is a Truth

This week had some great surprises. One of which is that my companion and I became godfathers to the son of one of our investigators. Another was a new family of investigators that live in a far out little town. Miraculously enough, they came to church. We have another family of a member mother and her daughters who are considering baptism. This week, two of them really started to light up and take initiative to get prepared for baptism, which made us happy. Another young man of 23 was going to get baptized but was forced to travel for work. He was devastated and bore a very sincere testimony, assuring us that this was of great importance to him and that the next week he won't let anything get in the way. We're meeting a great deal of good people here.

I felt impressed that charity is a truth. The end of 1 Corinthians 13 gives the classic scripture, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things." We don't often connect it to the idea that hate and dislike is childish. Love is not only admirable, it's merely the truth. If we were to know someone perfectly, we would inevitably love them. Our job is to ask for the eyes of Christ to help us see it. Sometimes I think we err in saying, 'God loves us so infinitely, even though we are so unworthy of it.'  I would argue that this gives the false impression we're pulling something over on God. The truth is, based on our potential, we are worthy of God's love. He is Truth, and if He loves us so infinitely, that means that is what we are worth. We just have to work at fulfilling His purpose for us.

Progress!

Elder Burt and Elder Phillips

This one is going to be quick, folks. I hope things are going well back home. We quite miraculously found a wonderful woman while we were doing a contacting activity for Easter. She felt prompted to come over to us and invite us to her home. We just had an appointment with her a couple days ago and she explained how she was caring for her aged mother and epileptic brother and needed spiritual help. She already said she´d be willing to be baptized if she began to feel our message was true...and her brother said the same. Things are going wonderfully here. Also I ate a chicken heart this week! Cool cool cool. The church is true!

Transferred to Cerro de Pasco

This was my first week here in Cerro de Pasco with Elder Phillips. It was a good week. I'd like to mention some particular instances of note during the week. First, was our celebration of Holy Week here. Easter's not really a holiday...it´s a celebration of the whole last week of Christ's life. Ben-Hur and the Ten Commandments are the crowd favorites playing on every screen in the market selling DVDs. We put up a tarp, put up seven giant posters of Jesus, one representing His actions every day of the week, and gave away free pictures of Christ to the crowds. We set it up in all the areas in the zone, but our area was the most successful. Crowds upon crowds gathered around to take one. Some were gracious and surprised that they were free, when most everything of this nature costs something here. Others felt entitled to take as many as they want and ignored our pleas of one for each person.

We had some other interesting experiences in the week. One came from a contact who seemed very knowledgable of the wikipedia page about the Mormon church, and had questions about all the topics missionaries need to be trained to handle. We assured him we´d come the next day and answer all his questions. We arrived the following afternoon, and he and his older brother, young men in their early twenties, came prepared with many printed, annotated pieces of paper of what the internet has to say about the Church. Surprisingly enough, I absolutely loved the experience. The older brother was especially sincere and respectful, but nevertheless wanting to know every topic under the sun that's controversial about the Church. We animatedly went in depth to answer their questions...I've loved studying this stuff, particularly from a scholarly point of view, and I knew that was what they wanted, with enough enthusiasm and love for the subject to bring the Spirit and testify it all depends on the truth of the Book of Mormon. We answered all the classic scriptures- no man shall add to the Bible, beware of angels bringing a new gospel, etc. In the end, the older brother was making his own connections to answer his own questions, profusely thanked us, and promised he'd read the Book of Mormon. It was wonderful.

On the other hand, our next visit was an interesting man and his family who, if I'm correct, is forming his own church group. This, of course, means he was far more interested in teaching us condescendingly about the Bible than listening to us. Nevertheless, when we could talk, we shared a lot of similar views on the teachings, with the addition of the magnificent claim that yes, not only COULD Christ establish his church once more, but he DID. On this second visit, it seemed more and more obvious he would keep interrupting our message to try and show his own knowledge with diagrams and everything.

I cut in and raised my voice and level of enthusiasm to ensure we could get to the end without interruption. Our message is, after all, remarkably simple- God's church is on the earth once more; we can know by asking God and depending on the Spirit; when one knows it is true, one should be baptized to receive all the blessings possible. On that line of logic, I bore my testimony of its certainty and challenged them to be baptized upon feeling the Spirit of its truthfulness. As they backpedaled into a theological debate on what was sin and when baptism would be appropriate, we thanked them and asked if we could close with a prayer. It was a memorable experience, more than anything because the Spirit was in the room and even if they didn't accept his witness, they felt him.

Well, the Church is true. We'll keep moving on up here. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

All Things Point to Christ

Elder Burt, members of his zone, and friends

Hello, world! This week I received changes and will be going to Cerro de Pasco! That's the highest city in the world, which means I'll get lungs of steel. I hear you can drink blended frog there! This was a solid week where we got to do some divisions. I enjoyed feeling the excitement new missionaries have to work and the faith that it will have results. I love talking to people...really, the key of the mission is to speak with the world. That's what we're here to do, and it affects so many parts of your mind. For instance...

I've been sharing with my companion my theories of how Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings is about the Gospel. I've enjoyed it sufficiently that perhaps I can leave it as my spiritual thought this week. I'll warn you, it will all be **spoilers**.

Harry Potter is a series about death...his parents die, Cedric dies, Sirius dies, Dumbledore dies, and about ten other people in the last book. Harry has to grow more and more each time because he has to deal with such a heavy burden. As he reads on his parents' gravestone, 1 Corinthians 15 teaches us that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. So in the end...he has to conquer death. He himself dies to save his people. Being the master of the Deathly Hallows, he's permitted to rob Voldemort of his power over death and have power over it himself. He resurrects. By dying for his people, he creates what is called a love shield around all those he saved. Dark magic has no power over them. Do you see it? Jesus Christ had to die for us, thus creating a love shield to protect us from Satan's power. Though Death was Satan's tool, Jesus became the master by sacrificing himself and now uses it to complete with God's Plan of Salvation. All things point to Christ.

Lord of the Rings has some apparent faults that frustrates people. For instance, why couldn't they just take the eagles to Mt. Doom? Let's start there. The eagles represent a literary device called Deus Ex Machina....or, godlike intervention when the characters do not have the power to overcome a situation. It appears cheap, unless it's literally representing the concept of grace. We cannot overcome all of our problems, so we will inevitably have to rely on the grace of Jesus Christ. That's the concept Gandalf explained when Frodo said frustratedly at the beginning, "It's a pity Bilbo didn't stab Gollum when he had the chance."

"Pity! It was pity that stayed his hand. Pity and mercy...not to take a life without need." Gandalf explains they will have to rely on this mercy to save the day in the end. Throughout the series, Frodo appears stupid for trusting Gollum over and over when it's obvious he intends to kill them. Yet that mercy is exactly what very nearly changes Gollum as a person. Even though in the end his efforts fail, that mercy was what brought the mercy of God upon him. In the end, Frodo himself fails, which, again, can appear like a frustrating ending...why have our hero fail in the end? It can only be to demonstrate that we all fail. Yet by being merciful with Gollum, God intervened and ensured the day was saved anyway. Gollum falling into the lava with the ring wasn't an "accident" at all, but rather evidence that someone was watching over them. Lord of the Rings is a story about grace. All things point to Christ.

Well I hope you enjoyed my analysis. I love you all. The church is true.

Elder Burt with recent convert